Pile



Sept- 13, 1960 L. MUELLER 2,952,130

' PILE Filed March 19, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 36 38 ..33 HMH r L. MELLERPILE sept. 13, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed man 19, 195e L. MUELLER Spt.13, 1960 PILE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 19, 1956 .fm/enter? Mun' RN &FREY MAMA/ L. M'U'ELLER Sept. 13, 1960 PILE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March19, 1956 .Im/@nto HM if STE N & FR Y W.

l.. MELLER PILE Sept. 13, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 19, 1956 M r@www Wma em. Y wmw JIM mw fmAW /M/ United States Patent This inventionconcerns piles 4and relates particularly to piles such as are describedand claimed in my co-pending patentapplication Serial No. 521,571 datedJuly 12, 1955 and now Patent No.,2,92/l,948.

In my said co-pending application, there is disclosed a centrallydisposed pile which is permanently driven into the soil and is `fittedat its lower end with an earth displacing -foot of a width greater thanthat of the pile shaft itself, and at an upper region carrying a packinggland designed to consolidate the earth around the top of the pileduring the last few blows as said pile is driven into the ground. Thepile shaft is hollow, and the foot is provided with a number ofapertures, whereby concrete may be forced down the hollow shaft andthrough said apertures in order to till the space created by the footaround the shaft as the pile is driven in. The pile is thus providedwith a concrete jacket substantially increasing the loading capacity ofsaid pile.

It is an object of the present invention still further to facilitate theprovision of a concrete jacket around a permanent pile driven linto theground.

Another object of the invention resides in means for enabling theformation of a concrete jacket around piles of solid construction.

`A still further object of the invention is to extend and develop theiields of use orf piles provided with concrete j j ackets.

With these and other objects in view, therefore, the present inventionlconsists in that concrete inlet pipes are arranged on the outside ofthe pile shaft.

In this way, the pile shaft may be solid, for example, of reinforcedconcrete,-or of steel or other constructional material with a concretefilling. Alternatively, hollow compressed concrete piles maybe produced,and may be provided with an external concrete jacket without their innercavities being filled with concrete.

According to a further feature of the invention, only portions of thelength of the pile shaft are covered with a concrete jacket, this beingaccomplished by fitting one or more intermediate sealing members on theoutside of the pile shaft. Thereby, for example, the pile can be `usedas a water pipe for artesian Wells by providing suitable apertures in anuncovered part of the shaft.

Another feature Vof the invention relates to the use of hollow -pilesfor subterranean blasting at a great depth for reaching the shot-hole,the hollow space Within a pile being used, after a concrete jacket hasbeen applied to said pile, for receiving the explosive charge eg. in damworkings, especially since driving and jacketing `a -pile several metreslong can be effected in only a few hours. KIn this embodiment of theinvention, the hollow pile shaft is `tightly sealed at its lower endrelative to the hollow earth displacing pile foot, and a second tightseal is arranged in the neighbourhood of the upper end of the shaft. Thehollow space thus tightly sealed off within the pile shaft may thenserve `for safely receiving or storing dangerous or other materials.

Yet another feature of the invention relates tothe proy 2,952,130Patented Sept. 13, 1960 vision of compressed concrete foundations forbeam-like plles, where steel beams are used to whose lower end issecured an earth displacing foot, concrete inlet pipes being led alongsaid beams up to the feet.

During driving of .a beam-like pile, the pile foot creates a hollowspace inthe ground around the beam by displacing and compressing `thesoil, so that the beam is not subjected to any great friction along itsdownward path into the ground. The beam can therefore be driven in withsubstantially less expenditure of energy than can a :beam without saiddisplacing foot. A flat chisel-like shoe projecting from beneath thedisplacing foot cleaves *any stones or solid obstructions in the groundwhich may be in the path of the` beam during driving in thereof. Bymeans of the concrete inlet pipes, concrete under high pressure isforced into the hollow pile foot, and then by raising the inlet pipes,is fed into the hollow space in the ground. The beam in the ground isthereby completely surrounded by concrete and is firmly anchored in theground after the concrete jacket has set.

.The invention enables steel, beam-like piles to be driven i in moreeasily than hitherto in ground which is very stony or boulderorrock-strewn, and beams which are to remain vin Ithe ground are protectedagainst corrosioi by the concrete jacket.

The invention will be described further, by way et example, withreference to the accompanying drawing in which: l

Fig. l is a longitudinal section through one pile con `structed inaccordance with the invention and hav-ing a shaft consisting of steeland concrete, v

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the head of the pile shown in` Fig. 1, 4F lFig.3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4 is a cross-sectiontaken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. l5 is a longitudinal sect-ion through the pile foot, parallel tothe pile shoe,

Teig. 6 is a cross-section through 4a pile driven into the ground andsubsequently provided with a concrete jacket,

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal side elevation of the pile shown in Fig. l,

Fig. V8 is a longitudinal section through another embodiment of pileadapted as a pipe for artesian wells,

Fig. 9 is a cross-section through the said pile taken on the line IX--IXof Fig. 8, F Fig. 10 is a cross-section taken on the line X-X of 'Fig l1is a longitudinal section through a further embodiment yof pile,designed for blasting at great depths,

Fig. 12 is a plan View of the head of the pile shown in Fig. 1l, sealedby a cover, and

Fig. 13 is a cross-section taken on the line XIII-XIII of Fig. l1.

Figures 14 to 2O show applications of the invention to piles of beamconstruction, intended for use in compressed concrete foundations.

Fig. 14 is avertical section through a beam-like pile having a pile footand clearance lugs,

Fig. 15 is a cross-section taken on the line XV--XV of Fig. 14,

Fig. 16 is a cross-section taken on the line XVI-XVI Fig. 17 is avertical section through the pile foot in aplane perpendicular to thatof Fig. l5,

Fig. 18 isa cross-section through a part of a bulkhead formed from a`plurality of piles driven in and subsequently encased in compressedconcrete,

Fig. 19 is a side elevation of the lower part of a beamlikepile'and'pilefooaand Fig. 2K0 is a frontr elevation thereof.

Referring now more particularly to Figs; 1 to 7 ofthey s drawings, thesteel and concrete pile shaftshown'therein vis permanently driven intothe soil and constitutes `a central member `and has a lengthwisereinforcement comprising four round steel bars 30 and a transversereinforcement consisting of a steelrod 3K1 runningspirally At the lowerend of the pile shaft is secured a'wedgeshaped earth'displacing steelfoot 3 having "projecting hat, chisel-like'Shoal,` The footf3 ris ofhol-` low formationfand is filled-with concrete. At intervals n annularintermediatepieces such as those indicated at i 32, 34 are set -in 'theconcrete. f At the upper end of the concrete pilevshaft aihead'plate33is lxed to which may be secured a packing gland, both acting to seal thepile lower yintermediate piece 34 serves :to connect thereina downwardlyi i ported by four vertical web plates 50 (Fig. 9) against the tube 47.Said web plates 50 divide the cylindrical space 51 of the intermediatepacking member 49into to the top ofthe soil'on intermediate* piece 32.rTher Y' therefrom leaving theirk upper ends still abovethe` head plate'33. `Suitablesupportfor.theconcrete inlet pipes# y may be obtained byrclamping them tothe clearance lugs, i

t with for example, small wooden blocks.V Two clearance lugs 37 arearranged laterally'on the'di'splacing foot y As the pile driver, duringthe rammingr operation, drives the pileshaft together with the fourconcrete inlet pipes 36 into the soil to the required depth, it iscentred rand. strikes' said shaftfthrough an aperture `38 provided inthe head plate 33. Thereupony the Ifourconcrete inlet pipes y36, whichkare conveniently attached at their upperr ends in a known couplingdevice,pare lled with compressed concretey and are pushed slowly andklgradually up the pile shaft, until the'latter is surrounded by'coniycrete along its whole length. For sealing off the hollow space aroundthe pileY shaft relative to the top, an appropriately shaped ypackinggland 'or collar 33a, as described in my cof-pending applicationNo.-52l,57l is fas- `tened to the headf plate 33, the'plate and glandthus forming a sealing member with the `soil surface, and is forced intothe soil during the nal driving blows.

In theembodir'nent of the invention shown in Figs. 8 to l0, which isformed as a pipe fork artesian wells, the pile shaft includes a steeltube 41, at the lower end of which is secured a wedge-shaped, hollowearth displacing foot 3 with a downwardlyfprojecting flat, chisel-,likeshoe 2. The foot 3. is covered at the top by aplate 42 wherein arelocated several small bores 43, permitting entry of water into, the foot3. The shaft tube 41 is provided at intervals with rows of transverse,circumferentially spaced bores 44 covered relative to the exterior bymeans rof hood-like clearing lugs 45. These lugs 45 are so designed thatspring or suhsoil water canpenetrate, into them through several smallbores 46, but coarse gravel or other solid mattery constituting thesurrounding soil cannot So penetrate. The design of 'clearing lugs 45depends in every casey upon the nature of the soil from which the waterhas to be drawn. p

The pile tube 41, which is of substantial wall section, is welded at itsupper end to a tube 47y of thinner wall section, acting only as a welltube, and to whose upper four parts, which,` after introducing theconcrete inlet pipes 36,r and before subjecting the pileto a drivingoperation, are filled with hemp, coarse tow, or other suitable material.The youter cross-section` of theiintermediate packing member 49 issomewhat' greater thanthe greatest t displacement width of pile foot 3,so `that by pressing gsaid packing member into ,the hollow space cleared`by the `'foot 3, it becomes even more smoothly and tightlylpacked y a fat its walls, and is tightly envelopedhy the surrounding soil at rtheend of the 'ramming operation. The operation tof yforcing concreteinthrough the pipes 36 is then com- ,menced, and at rst said concrete isforced into the packing Ymember'49 Without lifting the pipes 36 away..

The compressed :concrete consequently raises the hemp yand towy iillingsfrom they packing member 49 from beflow, and at` the same time creates afurther reliable packi t ing of the hollow cavity llying-above thepacking menr- 1 f ber and around the tube 47, by penetration'of the hempl ortow with liquid concrete. rDuring subsequently `con-l ,ytinued'forcing-out ofthe concrete, thepipes 36 are theny gradually orintermittently withdrawn.` Thus yonly the upper part 47 of the wholepile tube is jacketed, so that;

the tube 41, through which water is" to'be drawn from wthefgr0\lnd,is`left rexposed and can'collec't thewater around its exterior. Such wateris, ofcourse, pre-purifiedy bysettling outoflanyfpieces of rearth,washedintofit,^ Y f andxno water can'reach the'tube 41 from the'upper strata"ofsoil penetrated by the pile/merely by running kkdown-A `wardsalongthe pile shaft, except by running thrimghr the soil itself, which,however, then lacts as a iilter. `As with all artesianwell bores, thefilter and thek pump, or a suction pipe for the pump, can then beintroduced into the hollow pile shaft.

' The pile shown in Figsfll to 13 isdesigned for blastf ingyatsubs'tantial depths and has a wedge-shaped, hollow earth displacingfoot 3 fixed to the lower end ofA a pile tube `41 consisting'of anrappropriately strong walled tube. A plug 52 is welded into the lowerend yof they tube41, so thatthe `pile shaft is tightly sealed at saidlower end. A head piece 48 is welded on to the upper end of the tube41,"and a `cover 53 is then screwed on to said head piece to seal od theinterior of the shaft. Groups of clearing lugs 35 are provided atintervals along the whole length of the tube 41, and through them duringthe driving operation, are led concrete inlet pipes36 y extending as faras the `upwardly open foot 3. 'Ihe forcing-out of concrete after drivinghas been completed then takes place as in yboth the other embodiments ofthe inf vention already described above.

As the concrete, composed of quick setting cement, of

the tubejacket sets after only a few hours, such a pile, f

when driven in preparatory to deep subterranean blasting, is ready onlya few hours after forcing in the concrete. A typical use for such a pileis'in large dam workings, for carrying out ythe blasting operations.

For the rapid establishment of small fuel stores in yopen land, the pileshown in Fig. 11 is preferred, fora tube with an internal cross-sectionof 250 mm. presents a end is fixed a head piece 48. At thelevel ofthejunction j, y

ofthe tube 4l withthe well tube 47 is arranged an intermediate packing,membery 49 extending around the at its lower, smallerr diameter endtothe tubes 41 and 47.; Atits upper cylindrical part, member-t9issupcapacity of 49.0 litres per metre, so that with a typical shafthaving a length of 10.5111., 0.50 cubicmetres of lquidfuel may bereceived.

In the beam-like pile shown in Figs. 14 to 20, a wedgeshaped, hollowearth displacing pile foot 3 is attached to the lower end of la steel,beam-like pile 61,1 from .whichV y projects a tlat, chisel-like shoe 2projecting in a downward direction.

,the beam. The lugs 66 are of lU-shaped cross-sectiony An angle member64 (Figs. 14 .andy 16) is used to fasten the foot 3 to the lower end ofthe beam 631. yClearing ylugs 65 and 66are welded, or may be screwed,onto the web of the beam 61 at intervals along its length.

and are attached by supporting stays 68 on to the opposite side of thebeam. Concrete inlet pipes 69 project through the clearing lugs 65 and66 into the hollow foot 3. The concrete inlet pipes lare supported bybeing lightly clamped to the clearing lugs and the pile foot, forexample, by means of small blocks.

When the beam 61 is being driven into the ground, the llat chiseblikeshoe 2 splits any hard obstructions and laterally displaces them much asthe soil is displaced by the foot 3, so that beam 61 enters into theground behind the foot 3 without substantial friction arising at itsexposed surfaces. 'Ihe spaced clearing lugs 65 and 66 again keep thehollow cavity around the beamalike pile 61, created by the earthdisplacing foot 3, clear of soil which partly tends to fall in behindthe foot during driving. Upon reaching the desired depth, concrete underhigh pressure is fed through the inlet pipes 69 by any suitablecompressed concrete feeding device. At the lower end of the concreteinlet pipes the concrete ilows into the hollow foot 3, completelyfilling the same. The inlet pipes 69 are then, during continued feedingof compressed concrete, either lifted away in stages or slowly andcontinuously, out of the hollow cavity in the ground. Concrete underpressure flows at the same time into the hollow space around the pile 61and gradually lills it from bottom to top, until nally it spills outover the ground surface. This is then a sure indication that the pile 61is completely enveloped in concrete over the whole of its (length.

Fig. 17 shows how a plurality of beams 61 may be interconnected andtogether encased in concrete to form pile sheeting. If such pilesheeting is driven in water, and if the concrete jacket has to beapplied even while standing in water covering the ground, then sheetsteel casings are set up in the ground in front of the pile sheeting onthe side to be subsequently exposed to the water, and the hollow cavitybetween said sheet steel casings and the pile sheeting, similarly to thehollow cavity in the ground itself, is lled with concrete under a lowerpressure by means of concrete inlet pipes 69. The water standing in andabove the hollow cavity in the ground, when the piles are driven inwater is displaced upwardly and forwardly by the heavier concretewithout mingling therewith, if cane is exercised in compressing saidconcrete.

Similarly to the steel pile sheeting, piles of box-like construction andsheetings which are combinations of beam-like piles may be driven in iffitted with earth displacing feet, and encased with compressed concrete.

Dependent upon the types of ground and the shape of the beam-like pilesit is possible either to equip each beam with a single pile footoccupying the whole width of the beam, or with several smallerdisplacing feet. The number of compressed concrete inlet pipes forencasing the beams in compressed concrete is likewise governed by thecorresponding shape of said beams.

The compressed concrete foundation accorded to the pile sheeting asproposed by the invention enables beams to be permanently driven in evenin a very corrosive ground, because the steel beam may be provided witha concnete jacket of which the concrete includes a special additive forwithstanding acids and so forth. The compressed concnete foundationgiven to the sheeting has the further advantage in that it seals olfsaid sheeting in the ground, which is of especially great importance indam works, in that substantial resistance is offered to the penetrationof said foundation even by dam water at high pressure.

In conclusion, a steel pile sheeting encased in a compressed concretefoundation as proposed by the invention 6 can support a substantiallygreater weight in the ground on account of its concrete foot, than cansheeting which is merely driven in.

I claim:

1. A prefabricated pile shaft adapted for driving into the ground, saidpile shaft comprising a solid central column made of hardenedcementitious material, a metal frame embedded in said column lengthwisethereof to reinforce the column, a generally wedge shaped hollow footsecured to one end of said column, the maximum peripheral outline ofsaid foot being wider than the peripheral outline of said column, asealing collar secured to the other end of said column, the maximumperipheral outline of said collar being also wider than the peripheraloutline of said column, external feed pipes extending along the outsidewall of said column parallel thereto, the ends of the pipes facing thefoot being open for feeding cementitious material in owable conditioninto the foot and alongside the column, and a plurality of guide lugsfor the pipes latenally protruding from the outside wall of said columnin longitudinally and peripherally spaced relationship, said pipes beingretained by said lugs lengthwise of the column and longitudinallyslidable in reference thereto, the peripheral outline defined by saidpipes being within the peripheral outline defined by said lugs.

2. A prefabricated pile shaft adapted for driving into the ground, saidpile shaft comprising a solid central column formed of hardenedcementitious material, a metal frame embedded in said material andextending lengthwise of the colunm, said frame comprising an upper ringembedded in one end of the column and a lower ring embedded in the otherend of the column and a plurality of parallel bars extending within thematerial between said rings, the opposite ends of said bars beingfixedly secured to said rings in circumferentially spaced relationship,a generally wedge shaped hollow foot xedly secured to the lower ring toprotrude from the respective end of the column, a head plate lixedlysecured to the upper ring, the peripheral outlines of said foot andplate being wider than the peripheral outline of the column, externalfeed pipes extending along the outside of said column lengthwisethereof, the ends of the pipes facing the foot being open for feedingcemetitious material in flowable condition into the foot and alongsidethe column, and a plurality of guide lugs for the pipes xedly secured tosaid bars and laterally protruding from the outside wall of said columnlongitudinally and peripherally spaced along the length thereof, saidpipes extending through said lugs and being longitudinally slidable inreference to the lugs and the column, the peripheral outline delined bysaid pipes being within the peripheral outline defined by said lugs.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS903,441 Brace Nov. 10, 1908 927,963 Gibb -..7-.. July 13, 1909 1,661,270Ryder et al Mar. 6, 1928 2,008,521 'llakechi July 16, 1935 2,080,406Allen May 18, 1937 2,089,763 Rotinoff Aug. 10, 1937 2,162,108 NewmanJune 13, 1939 2,403,643 Dresser July 9, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 298,478Great Britain Ian. 24, 1929 541,509 Great Britain Nov. 28, 1941 65,976Holland June 15, 1950

